


Sunrise Kingdoms and Twilight Princess

by LNora



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fantasy AU, Medieval AU, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, how to tag??, i guess, king AU, kunimi kindaichi n kageyama r brothers, not that bad tho its ok, obligatory prince kageyama au, oikawa is also one of those brothers, some stabbing in the first chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22600999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LNora/pseuds/LNora
Summary: Suddenly, from behind, him he hears shouts and screams and some bangs, and the gate plummets to the floor. Hundreds of people start streaming out of the new and bigger opening, and now the forest doesn’t seem like such a bad option.Tobio starts sprinting down the small hill, running towards the forest with all of the energy left in his system. He crosses the border that separates the woods from the plain, but keeps going until the light from the fire can’t be seen anymore.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio, Kageyama Tobio & Shimizu Kiyoko, Kageyama Tobio & Sugawara Koushi, Kageyama Tobio & Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 5
Kudos: 42





	1. The Road Not Taken

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you uni for being the best beta ever, ilysm!!! <3

****

**Hikariyama Tobio** watches on as his former life crumbles to the ground in flames. The castle could probably substitute the sun, with how bright it shines. Banners turn to ash, walls topple over and glass melts. The once white walls have now turned black and grey, and the once glorious and powerful empire of Kitagawa Daiichi has crumbled to the ground, now only a ghost of what it once was.

Peasants and soldiers all run in different directions. The soldiers run through the debris to assist the royal family in their escape, while the villagers attempt to escape the burning city. Children trip over their former homes and their former friends, now ashy black and burnt to a crisp. The castle fire spread like the plague throughout the town, setting all the hay roofs on fire. 

Tobio can feel the ground under him swaying, the lights from the fire making it hard to see. The smoke from the houses snaked through the air like a sickness, making it difficult and painful to breathe. 

Tobio pulls the cloak closer to his body, in an attempt to hide his royal garbs and clothes. If he’s right in assuming that the fire wasn't an accident, then there is definitely someone looking for him. A rebellion isn't so far fetched. While eavesdropping on some of the guards, he’d heard about a small uprising in town a few months ago. Apparently it had been resolved without too much of a problem since no one had brought it up again.

_ They clearly didn’t settle the dispute in a good way,  _ Tobio thinks as he starts jogging towards the outskirts of town. He sees a small child, a girl with long braids, crouching down next to…  _ Oh god, those are corpses _ .

Tobio feels his stomach boil, as he feels his dinner wanting to escape. The sobs and anguished screams from the small girl make his head turn and eyes water. The sight of a poor child mourning her parents made him feel sick.

The more he heard her screams, the more the guilt from leaving his mother, Akira and Yuutaro starts creeping up his back. At the time, he’d reasoned that they’d be fine, but seeing the castle in shambles, his confidence plummets through the floor.

Tobio’s feet unwillingly carry him away from the castle, closer and closer to the walls that border around the city. After a while, he stops fighting against his body and starts sprinting, faster and more desperate to escape the smoke, guilt and screaming children and mothers who just lost everything.

As he steadily approaches the border, he can see families pushing against the gates. Merchants trying to escape with their goods, ostlers trying to get their horses through the passage safely, and children screaming and shouting for their parents. Tobio’s eyes fixate on a very out of place soldier, who seems to be scouring the crowd for someone.

_ Oh no. _

The soldier’s eyes start closing in on him. Slowly but surely, as if the universe wants him to see his last moments in slow motion.

_ Please no. _

He doesn't even have to look at the man to know how he smiles in recognition. He can feel the ground beneath him crumble and his last hope of getting out of here being demolished. 

Even when his instincts start screaming to “ _ Move! Leave! Run! Do something! _ ” His body just doesn’t listen. Everything freezes, as he sees a flash of silver and metal, and feels the soldier closing in on him.

“Stop-“ He hears himself utter before the inevitable collision happens. 

The soldier slams into him, holding a knife forward with both of his arms close to his chest. With the deafening roar of his survival instincts screaming in his head, he’s able to move a bit to the left. The small step is barely enough to avoid a fatal wound, but it's still enough to avoid a stab to the heart or the lungs. He feels the knife painfully rip open the skin in his lower abdomen. The searing pain sends a shock through his body, and Tobio has to fight with everything he has not to topple over.

He looks down and sees the soldier slowly burying the knife deeper into his stomach, not daring to look at him as he does it. Suddenly, as if hit by lightning, Tobio finds himself once again in control of his body. He can feel the adrenaline pumping as if he had nothing left to lose (which isn't wrong, per se), and with his newfound energy, grabs the soldiers hands and plants a firm grip on the knife. He slowly starts trying to pry away the man's finger off of the blade, one finger, two fingers, one hand. As soon as both hands have let go of the knife, a force from Tobio’s left side slams into the soldier, sending both the attacker and the man toppling over. 

As Tobio stares in awe, trying to see who had very gracefully come to his rescue. All he sees is his back, but it's enough to have a slight idea of what he looks like. The bright orange hair is definitely one of a kind and quite of a head-turner, as it shines almost as bright as the fire. 

It sticks up in a million different directions, either from the falling and escaping the fire, Tobio isn't sure.

That’s all he gets to see before the pain in his stomach throws him back into reality. 

_ If I remove the knife now, I’ll definitely bleed to death before I escape. _

Thoughts and solutions start racing through Tobio’s mind as he puts a hand to make sure no blood escapes the wound and so that the knife can’t fall out.

He carefully starts pushing himself through the crowd, making sure that no one collides with the knife while also keeping an eye for any more soldiers attempting to take his life. 

As he starts approaching the gate at a steady speed, he can feel his vision swaying and blurring, and blood creeping up his throat.

_ I have to get out, please just MOVE already. _

As if someone in the crowd read his thoughts, part of the people moves slightly to the side, making a gap just big enough to sprint out through the gates. With three big steps and a few shoves, he breaks away from all the pushing people and steps beyond the walls. Tobio quickly surveys his surroundings, looking for somewhere to hide and stabilize his wound. Anything will do. Somewhere hidden, and away from all of these  _ people _ .

The only place he can consider escaping too would be the woods, but going into the woods in the middle of the night doesn’t seem like a great idea and-

Suddenly, from behind him, he hears shouts and screams and some bangs, and the gate plummets to the floor. Hundreds of people start streaming out of the new and bigger opening, and now the forest doesn’t seem like such a bad option.

Tobio starts sprinting down the small hill, running towards the forest with all of the energy left in his system. He crosses the border that separates the woods from the plain but keeps going until the light from the fire can’t be seen anymore. 

Roots appear out of nowhere, stopping Tobio from running any further without falling on his face and hurting himself any further. He stops, looks around and spots a tree, big enough to hide his dead body if he were to die here.

_ Haha, giving up already? That’s quite sad. _

He slowly hobbles over to the tree and settles on the cold hard ground. The exhaustion and pain that had been held back by the adrenaline slams back into him like a bag of bricks, making him topple over. 

_ Laying down isn’t that bad. This is a good place to die, I guess. _

As he feels his consciousness start to slip, he starts seeing snow, slowly seeping down from the treetops. 

_ Or maybe its ash. _

As he feels his final thread to staying awake slowly starts tearing apart, he starts hearing voices. Well, _a_ voice. Someone. Someone’s calling for him. But they’re not calling for _him,_ no, not Hikariyama Tobio. They’re calling for ‘Cloak guy’.

_ Huh. _

The last thing he sees before he blacks out is more bright lights. All over his vision, he sees the bright orange fire, coming for him once again. Or well, something else, but he stops thinking when the world beneath him slips away and he falls into senselessness.


	2. Have You Earned Your Tomorrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sugawara Koushi folds another piece of clothing and swiftly places it on the cloth pile in fluid practised movements. He pulls out another from the basket and folds it once again. This time, an orange and small hakama. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank u to Uni for being excellent and Doro for being the best hypeman I could ask for. ilu both!
> 
> This chapter is..... alright. The absurd amount of names used is slightly infuriating, but it's the only way I could really write it without being waaay too confusing. I would've liked to fit in more character descriptions, but oh well. It is what it is.

****

**Sugawara Koushi** folds another piece of clothing and swiftly places it on the cloth pile in fluid practised movements. He pulls out another from the basket and folds it once again. This time, an orange and small hakama. 

“Isn’t it slightly weird how small and dainty Hinata is?” Koushi asks while he admires the bright garment. 

“Haha. I agree, but I wouldn’t really say ‘dainty’. You do know he could probably carry both you and me on his shoulders? That man is far from dainty and petite.” Yamaguchi, who had volunteered to help Suga folding all of the many, many, many clothes.

“How would you describe him then?”

“Oh, describing Hinata Shouyou is not a feat for the faint of heart. The best way to describe him is just saying,” Yamaguchi turns his head towards Suga, and in a low, very not Yamaguchi’s voice, says:

“Oh, Hinata? Hinata is the sun. Bright, annoying and terrifying in a weird, yet interesting way.”

Koushi has to hold the hakama to his face in an attempt to muffle his laughter.

“HEEELP!”

A sudden cry from behind them causes Yamaguchi to drop the black kimono he had been folding and Suga to rip a hole in the bright orange piece of fabric he had folded.

They both hastily drop everything they were previously and run to inspect the source of the noise. They immediately realise what’s going on when they see Hinata Shouyou enter the clearing while carrying an unconscious man on his back. The man’s hair was as dark as the night sky, with a few pieces of snow tangled in the strands. He was wearing a black, blue and white kimono, colours you’d usually wear if you lived in the Kitagawa Daiichi district.

Suga quickly makes notice of the blood that's seeping out of the man's stomach and down onto Hinata’s orange yukata, dying the bright garment a deep scarlet.

“Oh god-” Suga quickly throws the hakama on the ground and rushes over to help put the man on the ground.

Hinata’s scream must have been loud enough to be heard throughout camp, as Suga can hear people start approaching from different directions.

“That’s a pretty deep cut, probably damaged something inside.” Yamaguchi sits down next to Koushi and starts examining the cut. 

“Do you know what happened?”

Hinata let’s go of the man and starts sorting through the leather bag he’d been carrying. 

“He was stabbed by some guy with a knife. Can you help him?”

Yamaguchi firmly places his hands on the sides of the man's kimono, grabs onto the fabric and rips the garment open, exposing the wound. The wound looked like your average stab wound. The only thing slightly weird was how the ‘knife’ or well, what remained of it, was missing its hilt.

Hinata stops rummaging through his pack and pulls out, what Koushi assumes is the rest of the knife, a leather hilt with some inscriptions on.

“You broke off the- Nevermind. How long ago did this happen?” Yamaguchi asks as he pokes at the metal piece sticking out of the skin.

“Maybe 20 minutes ago?”

“The knife probably damaged some internal organs. He’ll probably be able to make it if we help him right now.” Yamaguchi turns his face to Sugawara as if to ask how to proceed.

Koushi spends no time thinking over what to do, immediately shouting orders to all the people that were attracted by Hinata’s bloodcurdling call for help.

“Hinata, go get Daichi and go see if you can find some towels and bandages. Tsukishima! Go get Tanaka and pull out the medical table in the kitchen. The one underneath- okay you got it. Asahi! Help me carry this poor aristocrat to the kitchen if you’d be so kind. Yamaguchi, you’re gonna help me.”

Everyone scurries off in different directions in a kind of a practised mess. Tsukishima goes to find Tanaka, who’s probably on his way to the clearing with Nishinoya in tow, as they would drop everything to inspect a plea for help, from Hinata, nonetheless. Asahi rushes over from his position by the big oak and gently picks the man up, one hand on his back and one underneath his knees. Hinata runs off to look for Daichi, towels and bandages.

Yamaguchi and Suga follow behind Asahi as they rush to the kitchen. Yamaguchi runs ahead so he can slide open all the shoji doors, seeing both of Asahi’s arms are occupied. 

As they enter the house, they pass a bewildered-looking Kiyoko carrying down another basket of clothes from the bedrooms. When she notices the man however, her expression goes from confused to worried and she puts down the basket at the end of the stairs to go and help with whatever needs helping. 

As the five of them enter the kitchen, they can see that Tanaka and Tsukishima have successfully pulled out the wooden table and are currently in the process of putting all of the knives in a small bushel.

Tsukishima looks up from where he’s packing the knives and starts to open his mouth, but gets cut off by Tanaka.

“We’re gonna go boil the knives, we’ll be back in five. Good luck.”

He then nods at Tsukishima to confirm that they should withdraw and both of the men start heading out. Before they leave, however, Yamaguchi grabs the blonde’s sleeve and whispers something into his ear. It’s too quiet for Suga to make out what he said, but judging by Tsukishima’s reaction and double-take at the raven-haired man that’s currently being placed on the table, it must be quite important.

Yamaguchi lets go of the taller man’s sleeve and approaches the table where the injured lays heaving and wheezing in his sleep. 

“Asahi, could you get me a pair of scissors?” Suga asks as he brings out a bucket of water from underneath one of the kitchen counters. He puts the water next to the table and then starts using the liquid to wash his hands. Koushi then motions for Yamaguchi to do the same.

After he receives the scissors from Asahi, he waves him off and says “You can go help Nishinoya with whatever he’s doing. Thank you.”

As Yamaguchi rises from where he’d been washing his hands, Koushi places the scissors on the man’s kimono and starts cutting the clothes from the abdomen, up. With the abdomen now exposed, Suga can more clearly see how bad the damage is. Just as Yamaguchi had said, the blade must have hit something. If not, then whatever the person’s name was must be one hell of a lucky person.

“Kiyoko? Could you make some tea out of kava and yarrow? And also a separate tea from ginger and lavender? That would be great, thanks.” 

Kiyoko quickly starts searching through the cupboards and pantry in search of the requested ingredients and the teapot. While she scrummages through the kitchen, Daichi enters with Hinata right behind, respectively holding knives, bandages and towels.

  
  
  


“These are the ones that Tanaka and Tsukishima prepared.” 

Daichi pulls out a stool from underneath one of the counters, puts it next to the medical table and plunks down three knives in varying sizes on top of the wooden stool.

As soon as Daichi’s hands are empty, they’re promptly filled again by the towels that Hinata had been holding. The short boy gave Daichi a sheepish smile and then proceeded to lay down the bandage on a different countertop. He then waved a quick goodbye and headed out into the hallway.

Sugawara overlooks the situation. He looks on in disbelief as an aristocrat from Kitagawa Daiichi is bleeding out in his kitchen with half of a knife sticking through his abdomen.

_ This, _ Koushi thinks,  _ is going to be gnarly. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should drop on March 7th (if not earlier) so yep. haven't finished chapter 3 yet and I'm kinda procrastinating currently (however chapter 4 is fully written so like, go figure)
> 
> I post art to @theellipelli and @ellipellipasta on Instagram and i also am breaking down over bokuaka and hawks so, talk to me. please. I'm lonely and bored


	3. The Raven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short-statured man walks up to the futon, holding a wooden tray with a ceramic bowl on it and two steaming cups. His hair is an unnatural colour of orange that sticks up in all kinds of different directions.  
> It matches the bright orange obi tied around his waist, a stark contrast against the black kimono. His skin is a dark tan colour, probably from a lifetime of working out on a field.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> once again thank u thank u uni for being an absolute goddess, ilu, i dont deserve ur beautiful edits

Tobio has woken up feeling many different things, but this, this is new. He feels like he’s drowning in some weird, horrible type of liquid, draining away his life force. He awakes and everything hurts, aches, especially his stomach. Oh, how his stomach is screaming at him. The reason for that escapes him at the moment. Food? The gaping hole in his stomach? Anything? Oh, wait. Right.

As he slowly sits up the pain in his abdomen flares, sending screams for him to lay back down all throughout his body. Tobio’s vision dances around the lights peppered around the room, making the floor wobble and causing his head to feel like it’s underwater.

When his vision returns to normal, he looks around the room. Tatami floors. Shoji doors. Some Ranma panels letting in sunlight. All in all, a very basic room.

Tobio can hear sounds from outside his room. Faint conversations, the wind making trees blow and the doors rattle, people walking in the snow, doors opening and closing, water dripping and many other noises. 

He hears one of the shoji doors from behind him slide open and then close, but he can’t seem to turn his head in the direction of the noise. Footsteps grow closer until they stop. A soft noise that sounds kind of like fabrics mashed together sounds from behind him. Whoever’s making the noise keeps walking, and he can now see them in his peripheral vision. They slowly approach, and now Tobio can fully see him.

A short-statured man walks up to the futon, holding a wooden tray with a ceramic bowl on it and two steaming cups. His hair is an unnatural colour of orange that sticks up in all kinds of different directions. 

It matches the bright orange obi tied around his waist, a stark contrast against the black kimono. His skin is a dark tan colour, probably from a lifetime of working out on a field. 

He sets the tray down next to the futon and then crouches down so that it remains between him and the futon where Tobio rests.

“So, uh, I’m Hinata. Shoyo. Hinata Shoyo. I found you passed out in the woods and brought you here. Sugawara- that’s my friend, by the way- fixed your wound a bit. I hope you’re feeling alright. Miss Shimizu made some lavender and ginger tea, she said it would help with nausea.”

The man, Hinata Shoyo- picks up the tea and hands it to Tobio, who warily accepts it.

“Uh, right,” He says before he starts sipping the tea, slowly but surely drinking more of it until he’s chugging the contents of the cup as if it was the greatest drink of all time. 

Hinata also picks up one of the mugs, but he doesn’t drink any of it. He simply sits and stares at the steam as it swirls up into the air.

“So, what’s your name? Referring to you as ‘guy’ is getting kinda annoying.” Hinata awkwardly glances up at Tobio, and sips some tea from his cup. 

“Oh, yeah. It’s-” Tobio freezes. Can he really tell him his name? If the fire was started by a rebellion, he probably isn’t very well-liked. If these people who helped him aren’t a huge fan of the royal family, he might get thrown out as soon as his wound heals.

“It's Kageyama Tobio.”

_Mother’s maiden name should work, for now._

“Oh, that’s nice. Can I call you Tobio?”

“No.”

“Kageyama it is then!”

Tobio puts back the mug, and picks up the bowl filled with rice. He gradually starts scooping food into his mouth, finally realising how hungry he actually is. Hinata watches on in silence, awkwardly fiddling with his fingers. 

“So, uh, not to sound rude or anything, but could you tell me where I am? And how long I’ve been out.” Tobio asks when he’s done eating all of the food.

Hinata looks up from where he’d been staring at his hands, taking a few seconds to process what Kageyama said, and then opening his mouth and vomiting words at 50 m/ph.

“Oh, right! You’re in Karasuno right now! We used to be a really powerful kingdom but after Nekoma and Shiratorizawa cut off trading routes we haven’t been doing so hot. The royal family disbanded years ago, and we only trade with travelling merchants nowadays.”

He looks at Kageyama to confirm that he’s been listening and if it’s alright to continue. A slow nod is all it takes for Hinata to keep talking.

“Ah, and we’re not even in Karasuno! We’re a bit outside of it, but most people here just say that we’re a part of it anyways. The city is actually pretty close by, so we go there often to restock on supplies and other things. Some of our own folks moved there recently, to open some shops. My friend- her names Yachi Hitoka, she’s really nice but very stressed all the time- she opened a shop down in Karasuno, so now I sometimes go and visit her and-”

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

During their very, very long one-sided conversation, Hinata told Kageyama that someone named Daichi would be coming by to switch his bandages and check on the wound. After Hinata leaves and Tobio subsequently goes back to sleep, he’s awoken by someone gently sliding open one of the doors.

The person who stepped inside is a pretty bulky man. He’s not very short, but he’s not very tall either. His skin is a tawny colour, presumably from a lot of working outside in the sun. His hair is very short and, cropped close to his skull, making the dark brown hair fade into a lighter colour closer to his neck and ears.

When he notices that Kageyama is awake, he simply says “I’m just here to check the wound and change your bandages.”

He leaves quickly after he’s done, not having said a word other than the first sentence he uttered.

Later, a man named Sugawara enters the room, carrying a tray with a cup of tea on it. He places it between them, just like Hinata had done- and starts asking a few questions.

“Okay, so, Kageyama. Do you know what happened in Kitagawa Daiichi?”

Tobio quietly sips his tea, debating whether he should answer truthfully or not. 

“From what I heard, there was a rebellion. Some citizens didn’t like the current royal family, I guess. They decided to take matters into their own hands and burn down the entire kingdom.” Tobio has to use up all of his focus to be able to keep his composure, trying his very best not to let venom slip into his words. If Sugawara noticed anything, he didn’t comment on it and continues to ask questions.

After a good 20 minutes of answering, Kageyama starts asking some shy questions.

“How long was I out for?”

“About a day. Not that long for someone who was stabbed and got pretty heavily sedated.”

“Hm.”

A few more questions got asked before Sugawara determines that Tobio should rest. He leaves with a final “Get well soon!” and then slides the door shut behind him, leaving Tobio all alone. After waiting for a few minutes to see if anyone else will enter the room and ask him another thousand questions he falls asleep as he concludes that no more visitors will be seeing him today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> U can follow me on https://www.instagram.com/theellipelli/ if you wanna see some of me art


	4. Fairy Song

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He finally spots the singer. The first words that pop into his head are ‘princess’ since she could definitely be mistaken as one. The lady, whom he assumes to be Shimizu Kiyoko judging by how the other inhabitants had described her, sits on the wooden ledge that surrounds the house, the engawa. Her legs are pulled underneath her body, hands nestled on top of her legs, the black kimono and orange obi hugging her body. She wears a secondary kimono on top of the black 0ne that shares the colours of a sunset, a gradient between dim amaranth and a bright vanilla colour. Her long dark hair is expertly put up in a classic bun that’s adorned by kanzashi in similar colours. 
> 
> As Tobio slides the door shut, Shimizu looks up to see who her guest is. When she realises who’s paying her company, she gently smiles and continues her song.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again thanks to the glorious uni for being the best beta ever, ilu u bish

****

**Kageyama Tobio** finally, _finally,_ wakes up one morning and doesn’t feel like he’s drowning. It’s a strange feeling now, after having woken up the past few days feeling horrendous. 

He’s grown a bit too used to sleeping in such an empty room. He’s also gotten used to sleeping on the futon, quite a drastic change from the much softer bed he used to sleep in, back in Kitagawa Daiichi.

Tobio starts looking around the room, trying to remember where Hinata had put the clothes he came with. He eventually spots them a bit further away from where he’s currently laying on the futon.

Just like everyone else he’s seen so far, the kimono he received is just like everyone else’s, black and with an orange obi. Next to the fabric lies a pair of geta sandals.

  
  


As he walks through the giant house, he can hear most of its residents sleeping. Snores penetrate through the shoji doors, filling the halls with a sort of comfortable silence. Most of the doors leading outside are closed, as to block out the winter, snow and cold temperatures that come with it.

_“Mother crow, why do you cry?”_

A faint voice starts seeping through the air inside the house. It carries a melody throughout the rooms, quiet enough that it doesn’t disturb all of the people sleeping. If anything, it serves as a lullaby to put all the resting residents into an even deeper sleep.

_“Because out there, up high-”_

Trying to figure out where the song comes from, Tobio eventually finds one of the shoji doors that isn’t fully closed. He slowly slides it open and looks around for whoever is singing the song.

_“My seven children can be found.”_

He finally spots the singer. The first words that pop into his head are _‘princess’_ since she could be mistaken as one. The lady, whom he assumes to be Shimizu Kiyoko judging by how the other inhabitants had described her, sits on the wooden ledge that surrounds the house, the engawa. Her legs are pulled underneath her body, hands nestled on top of her legs, the black kimono and orange obi hugging her body. She wears a secondary kimono on top of the black 0ne that shares the colours of a sunset, a gradient between dim amaranth and a bright vanilla colour. Her long dark hair is expertly put up in a classic bun that’s adorned by kanzashi in similar colours. 

As Tobio slides the door shut, Shimizu looks up to see who her guest is. When she realises who’s paying her company, she gently smiles and continues her song.

_“‘Cute, cute’”_

Taking her smile as a sort of invite, Kageyama approaches and crouches down a foot or two away from her. As he sits down, Shimizu’s hands leave the spot where they have previously rested and moved up to her hair. They dismantle the intricate bun by removing the hair accessories that transform the once prominent bun into a simple braid that lays on her shoulder. The kanzashi is put down on the wooden floor as she starts de-braiding her hair.

_“Mother crow sings,”_

It isn’t a very slow process, and it takes minimal effort from Shimizu until her hair is flowing in the wind as if gravity meant nothing to it. Her hands rake through her hair, smoothing it out and detangling it. Silence fills the air as she stops the song, deciding to instead pick up and admire the kanzashi, dragging her hands across the fabricated flowers and beads.

“It’s good to see you up.”

The comment catches Tobio off guard, making him twitch in surprise. He awkwardly glances over at Shimizu and sees that she hasn’t removed her gaze from the kanzashi. She’s still sitting still and admiring it, her hair momentarily blocking her view until she raises her hand and tucking the strands behind her ear.

“Uh, yeah.” The reply comes out a bit dry, making him sound as if he had swallowed a handful of sand and then tried to break into immediate song.

Shimizu turns her head to look at Tobio with a face that's somewhere between disbelief and amusement. Her stare turns soft and she smiles, once again looking away. Instead of going back to staring at the accessory in her hand she instead decides to stare out at the snowy forest that surrounds the house.

“Yamaguchi was scared you weren’t gonna make it. He wouldn’t stop fidgeting for hours after. He’s probably very relieved to see you’re alright.” As if she felt the confusion regarding whoever this ‘Yamaguchi’ was, she quickly adds a quick “Yamaguchi helped Sugawara with the surgery.”

They sit in silence for a bit, not quite knowing how to continue the conversation without making it seem too forced.

“You’ve met Suga, right?” Shimizu raises the kanzashi to her head, sticking it to the side of her head. The pearls dance around in the wind, adding an even more magical feel to her appearance.

“Ah, yes. He came by the other day to see if the wound was healing alright. We talked for a bit, as well.”

Another few seconds of silence commence. The wind can be heard ravaging through the trees, making them sway and rustle. Crows can be heard from the distance, screaming and crying out. Snow falls from roofs and trees, making a soft noise that echoes through the clearing.

“Ah,” Shimizu exclaims.

Tobio turns his head to see what the problem is, but abruptly stops when he sees the woman's blue eyes staring back at him.

“I didn’t introduce myself, did I? I’m terribly sorry.”

“You’re Shimizu Kiyoko, right? Sugawara told me a bit about you. Pardon me if I assumed incorrectly-“

Shimizu brings her hand up and waves it back and forth in an attempt to dismiss Kageyama’s statement. 

“No, you’re right. I’m Shimizu Kiyoko. What’s your name?”

“Kageyama Tobio. It’s a pleasure.”

“The pleasure’s all mine.”

Shimizu turns her head back to the forest, now admiring the falling snow that gently soars through the air. Puffs of mist are created with every exhale, rising like a dragon after breathing fire. 

They sit in silence, admiring the red and orange sky, slowly making way for the rising sun. The light colours the snow a gentle orange, turning the harsh cold environment into a softer and welcoming place.

Shimizu lets out a long exhale, and then slowly rises from her sitting position.

“Well,-“ she dusts off her hakama and starts to fix her hair back to how it was when Tobio first saw her, “-I need to start fixing food for everyone now. It was nice to finally meet you.”

“Ah, likewise. Do you need any help with the-“ 

Shimizu quickly interrupts him by dismissively waving her hands.

“No, no. You’re hurt, and I wouldn’t want our guest to do chores. Rest, please, and I’ll send Hinata to come and get you when the food’s ready.”

As she finishes fixing her hair, she slides the shoji door open and steps inside. She hesitates for a second, then pokes her head back outside.

“You can stay here for as long as you like. I don’t think Daichi minds, and Hinata will probably encourage you to stick around,” she adds. Shimizu then proceeds to gently slide the door shut, leaving Tobio alone out on the engawa.

He hears the song again, slowly soaring through the quiet air.

  
  
  



	5. A Moment Of Happiness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bell chimes above him, announcing his presence to the petite girl behind the counter. She rises from her chair and stares at Tobio for a minute before realising who he is.
> 
> “Oh! You must be Kageyama, right? Hinata came by a few days ago and told me about you,” she exclaims, her short blonde hair bouncing around her. 
> 
> Just like the people in the Karasuno, she was wearing a black and orange kimono, though her’s was significantly shorter than everyone else’s. She was also wearing a bright magenta kimono that draped over her like a blanket.

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

About a week after Tobio encountered Shimizu, the wound had started healing and he could now help the Karasuno household with their chores.

Most of the residents accepted his help, albeit with some reluctance.

“You shouldn’t be doing any heavy lifting yet,” Sugawara proclaims one day while they’re preparing food together.

“I’m not,” Tobio says as he sets down three sacks of rice on the countertop. 

Suga gives him a suspicious glance but goes back to chopping vegetables without pushing the conversation.

They continue their work in silence, quietly working in a well-versed rhythm, as if they’d done this a million times before. 

The harmony of the routine comes effortlessly, no need for any awkward shoving or side-stepping to make room.

“Ah, before I forget, Kiyoko asked if you could accompany Yamaguchi downtown and help him with some errands? Normally we’d send Hinata to Kitagawa Daiichi, but that doesn’t seem like a great idea anymore.” Sugawara stops staring at the pot of rice and glances at Kageyama.

“Sure,” is all he says as he continues to chop vegetables.

“Right.”

And so the cooking continues. Silence envelops the kitchen, save for the pots and pans occasionally clanging and the sputtering of boiling water.

“Could you take the bowls out? -If you wouldn’t mind, of course,” Sugawara vaguely waves towards one of the many cupboards, indicating the rough location of said bowls. 

“And the vegetables?” asks Kageyama, wondering if he should stop with what he was currently doing.

“I’ll fix that, no worries.”

Kageyama nods and heads towards the cupboards, looking through them until finding the ceramic bowls. After quickly stacking them on top of each other, gathering some chopsticks as well, he heads out through the doorway and walks through the halls. 

The house isn’t quiet, per se, but if you’re not actively listening for it, it might as well be. If Kageyama focuses, he can hear people talking loudly, someone snoring, bells chiming in the air and the soft lull of the wind making the trees sway. If he were to focus even harder, he could hear faint crowds of people, voices of merchants and children’s cries travelling with the wind.

It’s nice.

Growing up in a castle, he’d only ever heard the sharp steps of the soldiers, the king giving orders to any living being in sight, the hushed voices of his brothers and nothing more. 

The only kind voice he’d ever had heard was his mother’s lullabies that she would sing when he was a child.

After a while though, she stopped singing, and that was the end to nice moments in his life.

The first one to shun him was his oldest brother, who left as soon as he realised he wasn’t getting the throne anytime soon. Then left his younger brothers, who envied the attention he was showered in. 

The last to truly leave him, was his mother.

They were all still in the castle (well, save for brother number one), but they acted like he wasn’t even there.

The only one who had kept interacting with him was his father, who only wanted to groom him into an emotionless tyrant king, and one of his servants.

  
  


He slowly pushed open the door to the dining room, a surprisingly small room considering the number of people that were supposed to be in it at the same time.

Around the small table sat a few people, one whom he recognised as Azumane (he would usually be around Suga for most of the day, so they’d met already) and one person he hadn’t met yet.

“Ah, Kageyama. Good to see you!” Azumane exclaimed upon noticing that Tobio had entered the room. 

“Likewise,” he responds while he puts down the stack of bowls and the chopsticks on the table. 

As he’s setting out all of the tableware, he takes a moment to study the other person, attempting to see if he could guess from context clues who he might be.

He looked a bit plain, the only thing really making him stand out was his almost green hair and the freckles that coated his face. He, like everyone else in the Karasuno household, was wearing a black and orange kimono, but unlike most other of the tenants, was wearing earrings. They resembled the same pair that Sugawara had been wearing the other day, red and white braids with a flower.

“Oh, I don’t think you’ve met me yet!” He says when he notices Kageyama’s discreet staring, “I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi! I usually help Sugawara with all the medical issues that occur here.”

_ So that’s Yamaguchi _ , Kageyama thinks as he recollects Hinata’s loud and excited gestures about everyone in the household. 

“Kageyama Tobio,” He says, as he bows his head slightly. 

He then goes back to sorting out the tableware.

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

“Okay, so you’ll be going to Yachi Hitoka’s shop. You just need to turn right and then left, and then straight ahead for a few houses. Her shop is slightly hard to spot, so try not to miss it,” Yamaguchi orders as he hands Kageyama a bright orange hakama, “Ask her to fix this. Don’t worry about paying, she should recognise your kimono and let you off without paying. We have a trading agreement with her if you’re wondering why.”

“I wasn’t.”

“Alright! Good luck! I’ll meet you here again in an hour.” 

“Sure.”

Kageyama looks on as Yamaguchi waves and walks away, leaving him all alone in the crowded town. Attempting to remember the instructions that had been given to him, he starts walking.

_ Right. _

The people around him seem to take notice of a stranger amongst them, and the crowd disperses a bit. 

Kageyama hurries his steps.

_ Then left and continue straight. _

He starts searching for the shop sign, a bird and a needle. He sees a sign with a shoe, one with apples and one with clothes, but no needle, nor bird. He walks a bit further, scanning the buildings. 

He sees signs that advertise each shop’s contents. The many different colours feel somehow foreign. 

After a good bit of walking, he finally spots the sign. A bird and a needle carved into a wooden plate. Underneath it, in neat letters, it says: 

“鳥と針”

_Bird and Needle._ _Fitting,_ Kageyama thinks as he goes to enter the shop.

A bell chimes above him, announcing his presence to the petite girl behind the counter. She rises from her chair and stares at Tobio for a minute before realising who he is.

“Oh! You must be Kageyama, right? Hinata came by a few days ago and told me about you,” she exclaims, her short blonde hair bouncing around her. 

Just like the people in the Karasuno, she was wearing a black and orange kimono, though her’s was significantly shorter than everyone else’s. She was also wearing a bright magenta kimono that draped over her like a blanket.

“Yes, that would be me. Could you fix this?” Tobio asks and holds up the small hakama.

“Sure! It should only take me a few minutes. And don’t bother paying, I’ll charge Sugawara later,” Yachi reaches over the counter and grabs the hakama out of his hold. She walks across the room, searching through shelves for some thread and a needle. After retrieving the items, she quickly goes back to her chair and starts working.

“You can stay here while I finish this, just sit on one of the chairs, I don’t mind.”

Kageyama nods but stays standing. He looks around the shop, studying the environment. It’s a small shop, but not cramped. Shelves line the walls, filled with stacks of buttons and different coloured thread.

Golden needles decorate the walls, arranged in an orderly fashion. 

“Sooooo, you heard about Kitagawa Daiichi?” Yachi speaks up, not looking away from her work.

“Pardon?”

“Oh! Well, news about the rebellion has reached Karasuno and everyone’s been talking about it. Apparently they’re holding a public execution for the royals they found.”

Everything shatters. Kageyama’s hands turn numb, his head quickly snapping to where Yachi sits.

“When?” His voice might as well be made of ice, as his tone sucks all warmth out of the room.

“Uh- From what I’ve heard, next week? It’s just a rumour though, so don’t take it to heart.”

Tobio stays silent, thoughts flying through his head at unimaginable speeds. 

“Any news about who started the rebellion?” He asks. 

“Most theories are just guesses, but most people say it’s some guy called Oikawa Tooru. Apparently, he was the king’s firstborn but was upset over losing the throne to his younger brother.”


	6. I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they arrive back at the Karasuno house, Tobio sees Sugawara and Shimizu sitting side by side on the engawa, Shimizu playing on a koto that lays across her lap, whilst Sugawara simply listens to the melody.
> 
> For a second, and only a second, Tobio swears that he sees his mother instead of Shimizu. She looks like a mirrored image of his mother, sits the exact way his mother would sit when she used to play the koto for him.

“Any news on who’s getting executed?” Kageyama asks, fiddling with his hands as a way to calm down.

“Well, since most of the royals died in the fire or defected-” Yachis free hand is dramatically waving in the air for emphasis as she speaks, “- the only one’s getting executed is the queen, some of her family and her most trusted servants.”

“What about the king?” 

“Apparently they found his body in the rubble. Impaled through the abdomen by a wooden beam and both legs crushed. He was alive when they found him, but died very quickly after they dug him out.”

“So the queen’s getting executed in a week?”

“Seems like it.”

The conversation quickly died and Kageyama started distracting himself by thinking. His mother, his dear, sweet, loving and caring mother was going to be killed by her own son. By  _ Oikawa Tooru _ .

_ Is that what he’s calling himself nowadays? Oikawa. A peasants name, huh. I suppose it suits him. _

Tobio’s thoughts quickly turn bitter, cursing at his brother and calling him a coward. He’s only brought out of his spiraling thoughts when Yachi’s chair scrapes against the floor as she stands up.

  
She’s holding out the now repaired orange hakama across the counter.

“Alright! It’s finished! If you ever need any clothing to fix, you can always come here!”

Kageyama takes the hakama out of her hands, bows, and heads out the door. Before he has the chance to leave though, he hears Yachi speak up.

“Hey, Kageyama? You seem a bit distraught over the whole Kitagawa Daiichi thing. I don’t know why, but I suggest you tell some of the guys about it, I’m sure they can help with whatever’s going on.”

Tobio stares at Yachi for a minute, baffled at her words, but quickly regains some of his senses and replies with a simple “Of course,” and then promptly takes his leave.

He quickly walks through the streets, holding the orange garb close to his chest as if his life depended on it. Voices around him are dim and distorted, the ground below him shifting and changing. The air feels like it’s pressing against him, wanting to crush him into nothing.

It feels awful, and Tobio can’t shake the feeling off.

_ I have to do something. _

“Kageyama! There you are!”

He’s brought back to reality when he hears his name cut through the crowd. He looks around for a bit before spotting Yamaguchi waiting in the town square. Tobio takes a deep breath in and then exhales long and slow, attempting to calm himself down so as to not let Yamaguchi see his distress. After a few more breaths, he shifts his hold of the hakama and walks over to where the shorter boy is standing.

“Did she fix it?” Yamaguchi asks as he sees Kageyama approaching. Tobio nods, and holds the garb up so that he can see it properly. Yamaguchi examines the hakama for a few seconds, pulling it a bit to see where she had stitched the hole shut, before letting go of the hakama.

“Great! I got everything I was meant to get, so let’s head back,” he says as he starts walking away from the town, towards the woods. Kageyama slowly trails after him, head hung low as he stares at the ground as if it had personally insulted him.

He glares at the dirt, the rocks and the small patches of grass growing next to the path. He stares at the flowers as if they insulted his pride, he stares at the water as if it had slapped him in the face and he glares at tree roots as if they had killed his mother.

“Umh-” Tobio jumps, startled by Yamaguchi’s quiet voice cutting through the silence. He had completely forgotten that the shorter boy was walking right next to him and could see him glaring at everything around him, “-are you okay? You look kinda….. Angry? Did something happen?”

Tobio slows his steps for a second, and then stumbles as he tries to walk normally again. 

_ Concern. _

“Ah,” is all he’s able to say. Yamaguchi looks at him with a funny expression, full of concern and confusion, before sighing, shrugging and saying, “Tell me another day, perhaps?” before hasting his walk speed and hurrying up ahead.

“Sure,” Tobio says before following Yamaguchi through the forest.

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

When they arrive back at the Karasuno house, Tobio sees Sugawara and Shimizu sitting side by side on the engawa, Shimizu playing on a koto that lays across her lap, whilst Sugawara simply listens to the melody.

For a second, and only a second, Tobio swears that he sees his mother instead of Shimizu. She looks like a mirrored image of his mother, sits the exact way his mother would sit when she used to play the koto for him.

  
  
  


_ “Did you have fun today?” she asks the small boy next to her, whilst playing a heavenly melody on the string instrument that lays before her. She never takes her eyes off the koto, but she can feel how the air hums differently, as her son attempts to construct a believable lie to respond with. _

_ “Of course,” the boy says, the lie falling from his lips so naturally that it makes her stomach twist in anguish. _

_ “Is that the truth?”  _

_ The melody never stops, it only continues to flow through the air, surrounding the lady and the boy. _

_ “Yes.” _

_ The lady sighs and closes her eyes. Her hands, however, never stop plucking at the koto’s strings. _

_ “Tobio, it’s okay if you’re not happy. Just tell me, please.” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “It is?” Tobio asks, staring up at his mother with a curious expression. _

_ “I don’t like it here either. I miss my home and my family.” _

_ “Why don’t you go back there then? If you don’t like it here,” he looks away from his mother, instead deciding to gaze out across the small garden, admiring the giant cherry blossom and its petals that soar through the air. _

_ “If I could leave, I would have done it so long ago. Do you remember your sister?” Tobio shakes his head, “Well, her name is Miwa, and she left a few weeks after you were born. Apparently she met someone and decided that living with him would make her happier.” _

_ “Are you mad that she left?” _

_ A long sigh escapes her mouth. “I was. I was for so, so long. I felt betrayed by my own daughter, I was so mad that she left me here,” her hands stop plucking at the strings, turning the beautiful melody into a somber silence.  _

_ “But after a while, I understood why she left. I would have too, if I could. I’d bring you, Yuutaro, Akira and Tooru with me, and run so far away that no samurai would ever find us,” nestling her hands in her lap, she looks up from the koto and looks down at Tobio, who returns her gaze. _

_ “My dream is to one day be able to take back my name,” she says, her gaze softening infinitely.  _

_ “Your name? But you have a name already,” Tobio accuses, his face so full of confusion that the lady laughs. Her laughs fills the silence with a pleasant hum, silent to the human ear, but Tobio still feels it around him. It makes the air feel soft and light, instead of sad and heavy. He likes it better this way, so he smiles back. _

_ “Before I came here, my name was different, you see. I was called ‘Kageyama’ instead of ‘Hikariyama’. When we escape, you and I, I’ll give you my name, and it’ll be yours as well. Doesn’t that sound nice? We can both become Kageyamas, and no one will ever come looking for us,” she looks at him, her soft smile making the air hum even softer.  _

_ Tobio thinks it over for a second, before responding. _

_ “That sounds nice.” _

  
  
  


“You’ve met Miss Shimizu already, right? She used to be a part of the karasuno royal family before- uh, are you okay?” Yamaguchi’s voice brings Tobio back from the memory, noticing too late how tears had started travelling down his face.

And it finally hits him.

His mother. His beautiful, caring and kind mother is about to die. This sad, sad world is about to lose one of its last good people, and something inside of him protests  _ so  _ loudly. He feels his heart ache, every emotion inside of him screaming for him to do something. He can’t let her disappear. She deserves to go back home, not die for a kingdom she dreamed day and night of escaping from. 

A wave of fury and despair washes over him, turning his quiet tears into loud, heart wrenching sobs. 

Both Sugawara and Shimizu have now noticed their presence, and along with it, his complete meltdown, and scurry over to where he’s now crouched down on the ground with his face in his hands.

He feels someone's hand on his back, reassuring voices that slowly go from tangible to sounding like he’s underwater. The sounds around him start dulling, all his senses numbing and air seemingly moving away from him.

He can feel the ground shaking, probably from more people arriving and attempting to help. 

Tobio removes his shaking hands from his face and puts them on the ground to support him, as he feels like he’s going to fall over any second now.

He can faintly hear Hinata’s voice calling out to him, his small hands coming up to cup his face. 

The feeling of people around him slowly starts to leave, and he starts to feel…. Floaty. Like when he dreams. His hands don't feel connected to the ground, and the people touching him don't feel like people. 

Tobio looks up and meets a pair of big brown eyes that are overflowing with concern, before taking a deep breath and promptly collapsing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally reached the point where i got my beta to cry, im very proud of that
> 
> i also have a tumblr now lol tumblr.com/blog/theellipelli


	7. A Code Of Morals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tobio wakes up much later. When he comes back to his senses, he feels so disoriented that he has to put his hand to his head and take a deep breath.
> 
> “Are you okay?” Hinata asks. He’s sitting next to him, outside on the engawas ledge. The door to Tobio’s room is open, the bed’s covers thrown haphazardly over the futon, a poor excuse for something considered tidy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I HATED WRITING this why i wrote this like a day before it was posted so i couldn't get my usual fantastic beta to read so if this sucks IM SORRY i hate writing exposition

Tobio wakes up much later. When he comes back to his senses, he feels so disoriented that he has to put his hand to his head and take a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” Hinata asks. He’s sitting next to him, outside on the engawas ledge. The door to Tobio’s room is open, the bed’s covers thrown haphazardly over the futon, a poor excuse for something considered neat.

Tobio looks through his hand, looks all around him, sees the cup of tea he’s currently holding in his other hand. It’s half-empty, and the sides are wet.

“Is your head hurting again? Should I get Suga?” Hinata makes a motion to stand, setting down his own cup that he had been holding, only to be stopped by Tobio grabbing onto the sleeve of his kimono. He attempts to break free from his grip, yanking his arm away, but Tobio simply holds onto it with a stronger grip.

Tobio doesn’t meet his gaze, he only keeps staring at his cup, but he can feel the pitiful gaze that Hinata gives him before he sits down.

As soon as he feels that Hinata isn’t gonna leave, he brings up the cup of tea to his mouth and downs the entire thing. The liquid is room temperature if a bit colder, and Tobio frowns at its bitter taste.

It takes a bit for him to realise what’s going on. 

“How long has it been since I woke up?” Tobio asks, without looking away from the cup. Hinata makes a confused hum, the air shifting around him to make room for his thoughts.

“I’m not sure, but maybe an hour? What about it?” He responds, looking up at the sky to see where the sun is placed. “We’ve been sitting here for maybe half an hour now. You’ve been acting distant ever since you woke up, is everything alright?”

“Are you sure that I woke up.”

“Yes? I mean, you’ve been sitting out here and talking to me.”

“Okay. Alright. Because I just woke up. I don’t remember what happened since before I lost consciousness.”

The look of pity Tobio receives after the words left his mouth makes his stomach clench.

“Are you sure I shouldn’t go get Sugawara? And don’t lie to me,” Hinata quiets down for a second, seemingly considering something, before adding a short “please.”

“I’m fine. I think,” is the most convincing argument Tobio can make, but the redhead seems to buy it, as he stops looking at him.

They sit in silence for a few seconds, Hinata silently drinking his tea whilst trying his best not to stare at him, while Tobio fixes his gaze on his hands.

“Can I ask something?” Hinata says after a while. Kageyama simply hums in response. “I’ll take that as a yes then.”

Hinata puts down the teacup next to him and then pulls his legs out from underneath him, crossing them over each other and slouching forward, turning his head so he can look at Tobio.

“Why did that happen?”

Tobio stills. He can feel something deep inside him screaming at him, “ _ Don’t tell him, he’s not dumb, he’ll figure it out,”  _ whilst some other part of him screams  _ “You can get him to help her.”  _ He clenches his hands.

_ Compromise. _

“When I was in town, I heard some news about Kitagawa Daiichi,” Tobio starts. “I overheard someone talking about some survivors from the castle. Apparently,” he pauses, “they found my mother.”

It takes Hinata a few seconds to realize what Tobio means, but it quickly dawns on him. “The fire wasn’t an accident, was it?” He asks. Tobio sighs.

“It was started by the king’s eldest son, Oikawa Tooru, from what I heard.”

“Why was your mother in the castle?”

“She worked as a servant for the emperor and empress.”

“And how do you know they were talking about her?”

“They said her name, so yes, I’m sure.”

Hinata seems to consider his words for a second, before looking away. 

“They’re going to execute her, aren’t they,” he says after a few seconds of silence. Kageyama doesn’t respond. 

“That’s why you were so upset, wasn’t it. Your mother’s getting executed-” Hinata turns his head so he can see Tobio’s reaction “- and you can’t do anything about it.”

“Yeah,” comes out of his mouth, sad and quiet. Like a whimper, or a final call for help. Hinata looks away and frowns.

“That’s awful.”

“I know.”

“...”

As Tobio looks over at Hinata, he’s hit with how upset he looks. He looks so angry, so disappointed in someone and something in Tobio breaks a bit. A wall crumbles inside of him. Broken by someone who feels  _ so much. _ Someone who cares for people he doesn’t even know, people he’s never met, or will ever meet. Kageyama smiles through his blurry vision, tears falling down his cheeks.

“My mother should meet you. You’re both very kind.”

“We are?” Hinata looks at him, surprised.

“My mother is the most caring person I’ve ever met. Even though she lived such an unhappy life, living with people who never even looked at her, she still had enough love to be shared with everyone, and then some.”

“What’s she like?”

“She’s wonderful. Describing her as perfect seems weird. There are many people better than her, sure, but she’s still amazing. Sometimes I feel like she doesn’t deserve what she gets, she deserves so much more. I told her that, way back, and all she said was ‘Tobio, if I can’t live the life I dream of, then I want you to do it for me, please.’”

Hinata looks stunned. 

“She sounds… kind,” he says after some moments of contemplating.

“Yeah, she is.”

“I hope I get to meet her, one day.”

Kageyama smiles.

“I hope you do.”


	8. Oh Captain, My Captain!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daichi joined him in the middle of a melody, sitting down next to him so suddenly that Tobio blew a bit too hard into the flute, making the shakuhachi make a high pitch noise. Daichi jumped at the noise and looked over at Kageyama with a smile. 
> 
> He raises his hand in apology, “Ah, sorry for startling you.” 
> 
> “It’s fine. Do you need anything from me?” Tobio asks.
> 
> “Hinata came and talked to us yesterday. He told us about your mother’s situation.”
> 
> Ah, so that’s why he’s here.
> 
> “Is that so? What about her?”
> 
> Daichi stills for a second. He takes a deep breath and then exhales. “We wanna help.”

It takes 3 days for anyone other than Hinata to talk to him. Daichi approaches him while he’s once again sitting outside on the porch, fiddling with a shakuhachi flute. The flute had been given to him by Hinata, who had come by a day after their talk and handed him the flute.

“Some old lady from the town gave me this a while back. Music was never really my thing, but I assumed that you might enjoy it. You seem bored, and since no one wants to give you any chores, this is probably something that can keep you entertained. When you learn how to play it properly, play a song for me?” He’d said. Two days had gone by since then, and Tobio had finally started being able to play small melodies. The notes came in somewhat stable noises, and the hesitation he felt during the first day was somewhat gone.

Daichi joined him in the middle of a melody, sitting down next to him so suddenly that Tobio blew a bit too hard into the flute, making the shakuhachi make a high pitch noise. Daichi jumped at the noise and looked over at Kageyama with a smile. 

He raises his hand in apology, “Ah, sorry for startling you.” 

“It’s fine. Do you need anything from me?” Tobio asks.

“Hinata came and talked to us yesterday. He told us about your mother’s situation.”

_ Ah, so that’s why he’s here. _

“Is that so? What about her?”

Daichi stills for a second. He takes a deep breath and then exhales. “We wanna help.”

_ Oh.  _ Tobio stares at Daichi, incredibly bewildered. Help him to save his mother? Why would they help someone they didn’t know? Especially an empress from- Wait. Right. They didn’t know she was an empress. They still believed that she was a servant of the royal family.

_ This could end badly. _

“Suga and Asahi both agreed that we should do something. And Hinata insisted. He wanted to save her.”

_ Of course, he did. _

“Are you sure? Kitagawa Daiichi is heavily guarded by the rebe-” Tobio is interrupted by Daichi’s dismissive wave.

“It’s fine. Almost all of us are skilled swordsmen, so we’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

“So, how many are gonna help?” Kageyama wonders, whilst inspecting his flute to occupy his hands.

“Me, Asahi, Hinata, Tsukishima and Nishinoya are going. We’ll need you to go with us too, so we don’t kidnap the wrong person,” Daichi chuckles.

“That’s true. When are we leaving?”

“How long does your mother have?”

“Three days.”

“Then we leave in two days. It’d be the easiest to grab her during the execution. The crowd will be less annoying than trying to break into a prison. The people’s guards will be down, so we’ll strike then. The plan is to get in, find your mother and get out, without drawing too much attention and finishing as quickly as possible.”

_ That’s gonna be hard when we’re gonna kidnap the empress of the kingdom, everyone’s gonna notice. _

“That should be possible.”  _ Way to sprinkle in the lies, Tobio. This is gonna end horribly.  _ “I should be fine to join you. Have any spare katanas?”

Daichi looked surprised. “You know how to use one?”

“Of course,” Kageyama said through his teeth, careful not to give something stupid away, “My father was a soldier, so he taught me how to use one. I’m not very useful though, but I know how to defend myself.”

“I’m sure we can let you borrow a blade.”

“Thank you,” Kageyama bows his head slightly and hears Daichi laugh.

“No worries,” he responds and stands up. “I’ll go prepare some things, you should rest.”

“Yes sir.”

“Well then, Kageyama,” Daichi looks over at him as he rests his hand on the shoji door. “Have a nice rest,” he says and closes the door, leaving Tobio alone with his flute.

❁ ❁ ❁

“So here are some of the katanas you can choose from,” Hinata says as he lays the blades down in front of Tobio. The redhead neatly arranges them all next to each other, showing off their blades and hilts. “So, which one do you want?” He says after setting down the final katana.

Tobio studies all of them, spending a second or two to stare at each of the weapons. After looking over all of them he picks up one of them, a katana with a white and dark blue hilt and a black blade.

“I like this one,” he mumbles as he fiddles with the blade for a bit, letting the sunlight from outside the house shine on the black blade.

“Of course Kageyama chooses the black and blue blade, so predictable,” Hinata playfully jabs, wiggling his eyebrows and smirking.

“Watch your mouth, dumbass,” Tobio bites back, mirroring the small boy’s smile, “I’m the one holding a weapon here, not you.”

Hinata’s smile brightens and his laughter starts soaring through the room, making the air feel light and warm. It reminds Tobio of happier days, with his mother and brothers, so he smiles and chuckles as well.

“Oh! You should take it for a test run! Wanna spar? Sure you do, I’ll go get my katana, don’t move!” Hinata exclaims and quickly heaves open the shoji doors and leaps out of the room in search for his blade.

Kageyama smiles.

_ I could get used to this. _


	9. Anne Hathaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes 3 hours for them to reach Kitagawa Daiichi. They arrive in the early morning, just as the sun has passed above the horizon, it’s orange light shining over the city. As soon as they arrive, Daichi orders everyone to get off their horses and hide them in the forest. After tying the horses to the trees, they all set off into the city, looking for somewhere to lay low until the execution started.
> 
> After a few minutes, they finally find somewhere to hide. A small space between houses, an alleyway that leads into a bigger space. The sun doesn’t reach the small opening, and no one seems to have been here for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tsukkiyama TSUKKIYAMA

“Getting cold feet yet, Your Majesty?” Tsukishima Kei quips at Kageyama, interrupting the conversation he was having with the shrimp. As soon as the nickname leaves his mouth, the taller one of the two quirks up and stares back, dumbfounded.

“I’m sorry?” He replies, gobsmacked.

“You’re the one leading this mission, aren’t you?” Kei turns from where he had been adjusting his horse’s bridle and looks confused at Kageyama, “I assumed that the leader needed an appropriate title, that’s all. Is there a problem?”

Something about Kageyama’s stature seems to expand a bit, before shrinking again. He looks away and mutters “Nevermind.” Both Hinata and Kei look at him, wondering what made him so troubled. Shrimpy seems to shrug it off quickly enough and starts up his conversation again whilst Kei seems to rest on the thought for a bit longer.

He’s brought out of his thoughts when he hears Sawamura clear his throat and yell out “We’re leaving! Make sure you get everything before we move out!”

Moving his face away from Kageyama and Hinata, he sees Yamaguchi walking towards him, smiling. Tsukki feels himself relax, just a little bit. 

“Nervous? I can hear your teeth clattering from all the way over there, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says as he walks up to Kei and stands in front of him. “Don’t be mean to Kageyama, he’s fragile,” he says softly and raises his hands to cup Tsukishima’s face.

“As if, he’s just a stuck up child. Doesn’t know how to do anything but hold a sword, it seems,” Kei retorts as he stares back. His soft smile betrays his harsh words, causing Yamaguchi to chuckle.

“Shut up, I’m being serious.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Yamaguchi says, bringing the taller man head down to his level and presses his lips to the other’s chin. “Remember, be careful. If you die I’ll be burying you next to that ugly tree you hate.”

The blonde laughs and ruffles Tadashi’s hair.

“Old Big Berta? Oh please no, there’s nothing worse than having to lie next to her for the rest of eternity, anything but that,” he chuckles and smiles. “Don’t worry, out of all of us I think I’ll be the least likely to come back as a corpse, I’m not risking my life for some stranger.”

Yamaguchi’s eyes sadden for a moment. “You’ll still try though, right?”

“Of course.”

“Good.”

Silence.

“And I mean it, be careful. I don’t want you to die just yet,” Tadashi says quietly.

“I’ll be fine. The worst thing that can happen is that we lose Hinata in the crowd, so don’t worry.” 

“Good. Then, good luck,” with a peck on the lips, Tadashi turns away and heads into the house. He pokes his head out for a second and waves a bit and then disappears.

“Okay everyone, we’re heading out!” sounds through the clearing. Kei looks towards the house where Yamaguchi had headed before he jumps up on his horse. 

  
  


❁ ❁ ❁

  
  


It takes 3 hours for them to reach Kitagawa Daiichi. They arrive in the early morning, just as the sun has passed above the horizon, it’s orange light shining over the city. As soon as they arrive, Daichi orders everyone to get off their horses and hide them in the forest. After tying the horses to the trees, they all set off into the city, looking for somewhere to lay low until the execution started.

Whilst they walked through the streets, Kei kept a close eye on Kageyama, trying to discern any kind of reaction from him. All he gets are some sad looks and forlorn eyes. 

“Something wrong?” he hears Hinata say, who’s walking right next to Kageyama, almost as if they were stuck together by chains. The taller man shakes his head and quickens his pace. Hinata follows right after him.

After a few minutes, they finally find somewhere to hide. A small space between houses, an alleyway that leads into a bigger space. The sun doesn’t reach the small opening, and no one seems to have been here for a while.

“This should be fine,” Daichi says as he removes his backpacks and drops it onto the dirt. “Asahi, Nishinoya, we’re gonna go around town and ask around about the execution. You three-” he points at Tsukishima, Hinata and Kageyama “- don’t leave this space unless someone’s life is on the line. Understood?” His order is met with two nods and a quiet “Yes sir.”

Daichi nods as well, glances over at Nishinoya and Asahi and then heads out, leaving the three youngest all alone. 

They sit there in silence for a good 30 minutes before any of their elders return. Nishinoya quickly enters the room, picks up Daichi’s backpack and then looks over the others.

“Hurry, they’re starting. Kageyama, try to see if you can find your mother,” he quickly delivers and then leaves, effortlessly and quietly slinking through the gaps between the houses. Kageyama and Hinata quickly follow after him, with Kei slowly and hesitantly following from a few meters back. 

Unlike 40 minutes ago, when they arrived, the streets are now filled with people, ranging from children to adults. Kei also spots the occasional soldier, lined up against the wall of some of the houses, looking over the crowd for any suspicious activity.

_ Are they looking for someone? _ He wonders, before hurrying after Nishinoya.

They push through the crowd for a bit, before Kei spots Azumane’s looming figure standing close to the wooden platform. He can barely spot his weapon, a wooden bow, situated on his back, covered by the cloak he wears. 

As he approaches the execution site, he sees all of the future victims, men and women dressed in white gowns, all lined up on the back end of the platform. One of them, however, stands away from the rest of the group. A beautiful woman, with long black hair that waves in the wind and pale skin, stands in front of the rest of them. Her face is decorated with makeup that makes her look like a royal.

_ That must be the old Empress. _

Her eyes are closed, but Kei can see that she is very much awake, as her right hand is digging into her left arm, her nails drawing blood. 

Kei looks over his shoulders, searching for Kageyama, but doesn’t find him by his side. The entire crowd suddenly falls silent, a silent but demanding presence seems to have entered the scene. 

Kei looks back over to the execution site, where he now sees a new arrival. A young man, with brown short hair and dressed in white and cyan clothing. A katana hangs on his right left hip, the shieth and hilt being the same colours as his clothes. 

His back is turned from the crowd, so he can’t see his face. He does notice, however, how the Empress has opened her mouth, seemingly responding to something the man said. After a few beats of silence, the man walks up to the crowd and faces it.

“Citizens of Kitagawa Daiichi!” He yells, his voice booming over the crowd. “Today the execution of the old rulers takes place! The Empress and her followers shall be no more after today and will be replaced by my followers instead,” he finishes and turns to the lady behind her. 

“Empress Hikariyama!” He says, unsheathing his blade as Hikariyama kneels, hanging her head towards the ground. “Today your reign ends! Any last words?”

“I’m sorry,” the empress quietly mumbles, her vice barely being carried far enough to be heard. “I’m so, so sorry. I should have loved you more than I did, Tooru. But please, don’t take it out on the rest of our family.”

Her voice starts breaking towards the end, followed by loud sobbing and her form shrinking towards the floor. “I love you,” she mumbles, despair taking over her previous calm.

Kei feels pity towards the empress. From what he had gathered, it seems likely that Tooru and this woman where once a part of the same happy family, but their relationship must have soured with time.

The man doesn’t respond, only raises his blade towards the sky. 

But before Tooru is able to lower his blade, an arrow connects with his right shoulder, causing him to yell and drop his sword. The empress lifts her head and stares up at the man, then the crowd. She seems to notice something, as her eyes go wide and her mouth goes slack. Tooru turns to the crowd and yells “Who dares shoot me!”

He also notices the same thing as the empress does, as his face mirrors hers for a few seconds before morphing into a grin. Kei turns towards where they’re looking only to be met with quite the scene. 

Before him stands Kageyama, hands wrapped around Azumane’s bow and aiming towards the man up on the podium. The people around him have dispersed, giving a meter or two of breathing room. Hinata is standing between him and the crowd, looking up at him in absolute horror and disbelief. He spots Daichi, Azumane and Nishinoya a bit to Hinata’s left, all appearing to be going through the various stages of grief.

“Oikawa Tooru! Please stop this, she never did anything to hurt you!” Kageyama yells, knocking another arrow onto the bow and taking aim. 

All Oikawa does is squint, before jumping off the platform and landing on the floor, a few metres away from Kageyama. The crowd parts, letting him pass through. The closer the man gets, the more Kageyama seems to shake and reconsider his actions. Oikawa stops a meter or so away and opens his mouth.

“Good to see you again, Tobio.”


	10. Anne Hathaway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It takes 3 hours for them to reach Kitagawa Daiichi. They arrive in the early morning, just as the sun has passed above the horizon, it’s orange light shining over the city. As soon as they arrive, Daichi orders everyone to get off their horses and hide them in the forest. After tying the horses to the trees, they all set off into the city, looking for somewhere to lay low until the execution started.
> 
> After a few minutes, they finally find somewhere to hide. A small space between houses, an alleyway that leads into a bigger space. The sun doesn’t reach the small opening, and no one seems to have been here for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tsukkiyama TSUKKIYAMA

“Getting cold feet yet, Your Majesty?” Tsukishima Kei quips at Kageyama, interrupting the conversation he was having with the shrimp. As soon as the nickname leaves his mouth, the taller one of the two quirks up and stares back, dumbfounded.

“I’m sorry?” He replies, gobsmacked.

“You’re the one leading this mission, aren’t you?” Kei turns from where he had been adjusting his horse’s bridle and looks confused at Kageyama, “I assumed that the leader needed an appropriate title, that’s all. Is there a problem?”

Something about Kageyama’s stature seems to expand a bit, before shrinking again. He looks away and mutters “Nevermind.” Both Hinata and Kei look at him, wondering what made him so troubled. Shrimpy seems to shrug it off quickly enough and starts up his conversation again whilst Kei seems to rest on the thought for a bit longer.

He’s brought out of his thoughts when he hears Sawamura clear his throat and yell out “We’re leaving! Make sure you get everything before we move out!”

Moving his face away from Kageyama and Hinata, he sees Yamaguchi walking towards him, smiling. Tsukki feels himself relax, just a little bit. 

“Nervous? I can hear your teeth clattering from all the way over there, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says as he walks up to Kei and stands in front of him. “Don’t be mean to Kageyama, he’s fragile,” he says softly and raises his hands to cup Tsukishima’s face.

“As if, he’s just a stuck up child. Doesn’t know how to do anything but hold a sword, it seems,” Kei retorts as he stares back. His soft smile betrays his harsh words, causing Yamaguchi to chuckle.

“Shut up, I’m being serious.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Yamaguchi says, bringing the taller man head down to his level and presses his lips to the other’s chin. “Remember, be careful. If you die I’ll be burying you next to that ugly tree you hate.”

The blonde laughs and ruffles Tadashi’s hair.

“Old Big Berta? Oh please no, there’s nothing worse than having to lie next to her for the rest of eternity, anything but that,” he chuckles and smiles. “Don’t worry, out of all of us I think I’ll be the least likely to come back as a corpse, I’m not risking my life for some stranger.”

Yamaguchi’s eyes sadden for a moment. “You’ll still try though, right?”

“Of course.”

“Good.”

Silence.

“And I mean it, be careful. I don’t want you to die just yet,” Tadashi says quietly.

“I’ll be fine. The worst thing that can happen is that we lose Hinata in the crowd, so don’t worry.” 

“Good. Then, good luck,” with a peck on the lips, Tadashi turns away and heads into the house. He pokes his head out for a second and waves a bit and then disappears.

“Okay everyone, we’re heading out!” sounds through the clearing. Kei looks towards the house where Yamaguchi had headed before he jumps up on his horse. 

  
  


❁ ❁ ❁

  
  


It takes 3 hours for them to reach Kitagawa Daiichi. They arrive in the early morning, just as the sun has passed above the horizon, it’s orange light shining over the city. As soon as they arrive, Daichi orders everyone to get off their horses and hide them in the forest. After tying the horses to the trees, they all set off into the city, looking for somewhere to lay low until the execution started.

Whilst they walked through the streets, Kei kept a close eye on Kageyama, trying to discern any kind of reaction from him. All he gets are some sad looks and forlorn eyes. 

“Something wrong?” he hears Hinata say, who’s walking right next to Kageyama, almost as if they were stuck together by chains. The taller man shakes his head and quickens his pace. Hinata follows right after him.

After a few minutes, they finally find somewhere to hide. A small space between houses, an alleyway that leads into a bigger space. The sun doesn’t reach the small opening, and no one seems to have been here for a while.

“This should be fine,” Daichi says as he removes his backpacks and drops it onto the dirt. “Asahi, Nishinoya, we’re gonna go around town and ask around about the execution. You three-” he points at Tsukishima, Hinata and Kageyama “- don’t leave this space unless someone’s life is on the line. Understood?” His order is met with two nods and a quiet “Yes sir.”

Daichi nods as well, glances over at Nishinoya and Asahi and then heads out, leaving the three youngest all alone. 

They sit there in silence for a good 30 minutes before any of their elders return. Nishinoya quickly enters the room, picks up Daichi’s backpack and then looks over the others.

“Hurry, they’re starting. Kageyama, try to see if you can find your mother,” he quickly delivers and then leaves, effortlessly and quietly slinking through the gaps between the houses. Kageyama and Hinata quickly follow after him, with Kei slowly and hesitantly following from a few meters back. 

Unlike 40 minutes ago, when they arrived, the streets are now filled with people, ranging from children to adults. Kei also spots the occasional soldier, lined up against the wall of some of the houses, looking over the crowd for any suspicious activity.

_ Are they looking for someone? _ He wonders, before hurrying after Nishinoya.

They push through the crowd for a bit, before Kei spots Azumane’s looming figure standing close to the wooden platform. He can barely spot his weapon, a wooden bow, situated on his back, covered by the cloak he wears. 

As he approaches the execution site, he sees all of the future victims, men and women dressed in white gowns, all lined up on the back end of the platform. One of them, however, stands away from the rest of the group. A beautiful woman, with long black hair that waves in the wind and pale skin, stands in front of the rest of them. Her face is decorated with makeup that makes her look like a royal.

_ That must be the old Empress. _

Her eyes are closed, but Kei can see that she is very much awake, as her right hand is digging into her left arm, her nails drawing blood. 

Kei looks over his shoulders, searching for Kageyama, but doesn’t find him by his side. The entire crowd suddenly falls silent, a silent but demanding presence seems to have entered the scene. 

Kei looks back over to the execution site, where he now sees a new arrival. A young man, with brown short hair and dressed in white and cyan clothing. A katana hangs on his right left hip, the shieth and hilt being the same colours as his clothes. 

His back is turned from the crowd, so he can’t see his face. He does notice, however, how the Empress has opened her mouth, seemingly responding to something the man said. After a few beats of silence, the man walks up to the crowd and faces it.

“Citizens of Kitagawa Daiichi!” He yells, his voice booming over the crowd. “Today the execution of the old rulers takes place! The Empress and her followers shall be no more after today and will be replaced by my followers instead,” he finishes and turns to the lady behind her. 

“Empress Hikariyama!” He says, unsheathing his blade as Hikariyama kneels, hanging her head towards the ground. “Today your reign ends! Any last words?”

“I’m sorry,” the empress quietly mumbles, her vice barely being carried far enough to be heard. “I’m so, so sorry. I should have loved you more than I did, Tooru. But please, don’t take it out on the rest of our family.”

Her voice starts breaking towards the end, followed by loud sobbing and her form shrinking towards the floor. “I love you,” she mumbles, despair taking over her previous calm.

Kei feels pity towards the empress. From what he had gathered, it seems likely that Tooru and this woman where once a part of the same happy family, but their relationship must have soured with time.

The man doesn’t respond, only raises his blade towards the sky. 

But before Tooru is able to lower his blade, an arrow connects with his right shoulder, causing him to yell and drop his sword. The empress lifts her head and stares up at the man, then the crowd. She seems to notice something, as her eyes go wide and her mouth goes slack. Tooru turns to the crowd and yells “Who dares shoot me!”

He also notices the same thing as the empress does, as his face mirrors hers for a few seconds before morphing into a grin. Kei turns towards where they’re looking only to be met with quite the scene. 

Before him stands Kageyama, hands wrapped around Azumane’s bow and aiming towards the man up on the podium. The people around him have dispersed, giving a meter or two of breathing room. Hinata is standing between him and the crowd, looking up at him in absolute horror and disbelief. He spots Daichi, Azumane and Nishinoya a bit to Hinata’s left, all appearing to be going through the various stages of grief.

“Oikawa Tooru! Please stop this, she never did anything to hurt you!” Kageyama yells, knocking another arrow onto the bow and taking aim. 

All Oikawa does is squint, before jumping off the platform and landing on the floor, a few metres away from Kageyama. The crowd parts, letting him pass through. The closer the man gets, the more Kageyama seems to shake and reconsider his actions. Oikawa stops a meter or so away and opens his mouth.

“Good to see you again, Tobio.”

**Author's Note:**

> I post art to my instagram.com/theellipelli
> 
> I post a chapter every 7th and 22nd! <3


End file.
